NC could see a budget stalemate again this year, this time between Republican chambers Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) Jun. 3—RALEIGH — The North Carolina state budget being a drawn-out battle between branches or chambers is becoming more of a tradition than an exception. Less than a month before the new fiscal year begins, there's still no new state budget. And the state could see another summer-long budget stalemate, or one that extends into the fall. There's a chance there might not be a budget in the end, at least not in the traditional sense. Instead, Senate leader Phil Berger is ready to move ahead with smaller, "mini" budget bills by mid-June, he told reporters Thursday on the Senate floor. That means the week of June 14, less than two weeks away.